In My Dreams
by rosemasquerader
Summary: Jareth has a brother and he banished him to the land of dreams where he is king. One girl can save him and his kingdom, but does it only happen in her dreams.
1. Music in the Night

Katlene woke up with a start from one of her continuous nightmares. Her heart was beating rapidly and her breath was coming out in short gasping breaths. Her brain was screaming for her to calm down and that it was only a dream. Only unreality confiscating her mind. She gradually recovered and laid back down and tried to settle down her heart. She pulled her covers over her body as calmly as she could with her body still shaking. She slowed down her breathing and while she took three deep breaths she gently closed her eyes.

At first there was only deep, peaceful darkness then all of the sudden she could almost hear the vibrations, her nightmare was repeating itself. The darkness only lightened slightly but enough that Katlene found herself in a field. She surveyed the space around herself, she knew she'd seen it before but as like all the other times she had this dream she couldn't remember what made it a nightmare until it was upon her. She turned around and looked out at the wide expanse of green and then up at the large full moon. The vibrations hit the ground around her again. At first her mind said, "Earthquake" but it knew better than that. She broke her eyes away from the moon and looked at the hill her body was facing. A large mass was coming to the top of the hill. As it drew closer it could be seen to be a raging mob of wild horses stampeding towards Katlene's solitary form. She tried to move but could not she was frozen to the spot. When she could feel the mud coming off the hooves of the horses and hitting her, a scream rose to her throat and shout resounded among the hills, "No!" It was like the clang of gong it resonated throughout the hills and came back in echoes to her ears as they deadened.

She awoke again covered in sweat.

"This will not do." She got up and put on a robe.

She silently walked through her parent's colonial house careful not to wake her parents or her sibling. She headed towards the French doors that led into the family's immense garden. It was a peaceful place to go when you want to escape heavy thoughts. There was a path that led to a large waterfall. Katlene had teasingly begged down her knees for a seat underneath the waterfall, her father had laughed at her drama queen ways. Although he had laughed he did make the closest thing to what she asked for. The bench ended up being situated underneath some of the waterfall's rivers that through the sloping expanse of their backyard made mini waterfalls. On both sides of the bench was a mini waterfall, which sprayed lightly the occupant of the seat with a thin mist.

Katlene ran to the bench and sat down with a sigh, she looked up at the stars and soon her thoughts drifted away from the nightmare and flew to brighter thoughts.

Up in a tree at its very peak was a black feathered falcon. It arched its wings out wide as it prepared itself to take flight.

Katlene's thoughts wandered from school to the wonders of creation and then back to school. She thought of her friends and how they were all going up to Montana in the summer and they were going to go hiking and horse-back riding. Horses. "Oh no…Just don't think about it. Think about the stars." But the blazing stars reminded her too much like the flames that could be seen in the eyes of the mad horses right before they were about to trample her. "No!" She suddenly thought of practicing for her play at school, but her mind went blank.

The falcon looked down as he heard a voice.

"Sing. That's it I'll start singing. What?" She started humming to herself; her voice came out humming a favorite tune from a Disney movie that she had watched when she was little.

_"__Dancing bears painted wings_

_Things I almost remember_

_And I song someone sings _

_Once upon a December_

_Someone holds me safe and warm_

_Horses prance through a silver storm_

_Figures dancing gracefully _

_Across my memories__…"_

Katlene knew she was off on some of the lyrics but she didn't care she was on a roll.

The falcon looked curiously over at the young woman beginning to sway with a song and before he knew it she began floating across the garden dancing with imaginary me. If his beak could have split a grin it would have done so. Something about this girl was familiar.

Katlene was rearing towards the end of the song and she remembered how in the cartoon Anastasia had curtsied at the end of the song. She smiled to herself and when finishing the song she did the same blocking (actions).

_"And a song someone sings _

_Once Upon a December…" _

Katlene let out a contented sigh as she rose from her curtsey. She looked up at the stars once again that night but this time fearlessly with no dark thoughts lurking in the corners of her mind. A falling star fell she smiled up at it.

"I wish that my dreams could come true." With yet another sigh and shake of the head. "A superstition that only fools believe." She shook her head again.

Your wish is my command, thought the two dark eyes looking at her from above.

Katlene started walking towards the doors but then she looked up at the stars once more.

"Goodnight dear sta…" Before she could complete her sentence there was a quaking of her feet and the stars seemed to come together and form one star. There was an explosion and Katlene lost her footing and everything went black.


	2. Banished Prince

Around the same time that Katlene was having her nightmare a man if you could call him that was having one as well. It was a repeating dream as well. Yet this particular night it was slightly different. In his dream he'd go through his whole life.

He was born in a different place than where he was situated then. It was a place of fantasy. He was born a twin; he and his brother were as different as two men could be. His brother was fair skinned with platinum blond hair and mix-matched eyes but he was born with jet black hair as dark as a midnight sky, black fathomless eyes. The only physical similarity was that they were both tall. His brother was loved more supposedly because he was more handsome, but that wasn't truth. For although he was as different from his brother as night is to day, he was very handsome. He was born unfortunately after his brother thus his brother would get kingship over their father's lands.

When he tried to fight for the right to be king he was held in imprisonment for a day and then taken to have an audience with his brother, King Jareth. He was charged with treason but because he was the king's brother he was not executed but banished. Banished to a land unharnessed and chaotic, the land of dreams. There he became king over its inhabitants and would not be released from this symbolic hell until he married. Ahhh, but it was not as simple as that, it had to be the right maiden. If he married the wrong one then he would forever be in the land of dreams for there is no such thing as divorce there.

His dream always ended with his wedding but every time his bride turned around her face would be contorted and disfigured. It was the wrong one.

Yet on that night it was different as the bride turned around, Erik braced himself to see the distorted face but there was none, instead there was young unblemished one. She had straight golden hair that was looped up behind her head, except for two curls on each side of her head. She smiled down upon him and then his dream ended. Erik sat up in his bed there was no such maiden in his kingdom he was sure of it.

He got up; he knew he wouldn't get any sleep now that his freedom was in sight. He decided to go out for a flight, which always helped him clear his thoughts and then put them back into line.

He went over to the doors leading onto his balcony. The wind blew whipping the curtain around him but then all of the sudden it calmed down. When the curtains returned to their positions beside the windows frame the king no longer stood on the balcony. If you had walked up to that window you would have seen nothing but the length of dark sky with a full moon hanging over the expanse of dark hills. Oh, almost forgot, and a black feathered falcon flying towards the horizon.


	3. The Land of Dreams

Katlene walk up groggily, instead of seeing her canopy of linen she saw above her a canopy of green, swaying branches. _I must have fallen asleep under our willow tree _she thought. She slowly lifted herself on her elbows and then stopped suddenly.

"Wait! We don't have a willow tree." She swung around to find herself gaping at a beautiful golden landscape. There were crystal lakes, sparkling rivers and lonely willows hanging solemnly over the cheerful things. Katlene gasped she'd only seen a place like this in her dreams.

_Yes your dreams, my dear._ A voice whispered inside her head.

"Who was that and how did you do that?"

_Questions__ always questions but do people every let me answer, no they don't. _

"Why not?"

_Well you see dear, even in the land of dreams those who live here don't very much like telepathic trees. _

"So it's the tree is it?"

_Yes, well I suppose you'll be like all the others won'__t you?_

"I hope not."

_Why not?_

"I'm not quite sure yet but I have an odd feeling about this place. All though it appears to look bright and cheery there is something awfully grim about the whole thing."

_Well welcome to the land of dreams._

"The land of dreams?! Well that explains it I'm dreaming."

_Hate to break it to you, but you aren't dreaming._

"Prove it."

_Well in dreams can you feel things l__ike a breeze __rustling__ your hair?_

"Well not really."

_Exactly. _

"Wait you said there were people in the land of dreams?"

_Yes __they haven't had laugh__ter here since my earlier days._

"Why not? Aren't usually dreams…well aren't they usually happy."

_Usually, but do you remember how you said you had a wary feeling of this place._

"Yes. Why?"

_Well the __attitude of the villagers' is__ part of that. Oh and that the fact that the king is trapped here until he…_

"Wait! There's a king? But I haven't seen a castle."

_Sometimes you have to look farther than your eyes can see._

"What's that supposed to me…?" The question died at her lips as the greatest castle she'd ever seen rose before the city. "Wow!"

No castle she'd seen in all her travels to Europe could even sum up to the massive structure in the distance. To some it might have seemed dark and menacing but Katlene was fascinated. The castle was first of all midnight black, yet it still had a sparkling gleam that made you think it was spotlessly clean. Large turrets reached up into the sky that you had to squint to see their crimson flags. Its drawbridge had elaborate designs.

"It looks like a castle that a pirate would have if he ever became a king."

Brusque laughing at her comment made her turn around. Right before her was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. _Man he's gorgeous. _Tall, dark and handsome definitely what a lot of girls dream of meeting one day. She studied him.

"Done staring, my dear?" She blushed when he spoke and looked quickly to the ground. His voice was so rich and yet soft and **enticing**. _Whoa, get a hold of __yourself girl. _The tree had been silent for awhile but after that thought it began to chuckle. Katlene groaned. _Well he is so…whoa. You know for a person who always said appearances aren't everything I'm sure being hypocritical. _

_All of us can be that way._

"Yes we can." Katlene sighed and looked across the landscape and then mentally slapped herself. She turned abruptly back to the man, "I'm so sorry, where are my manners? What's your name?"

"I should be asking the same question."

"Mine's Katlene, and yours?"

"Erik." He gave a slight bow of the head. _Boy he's sure proud and mighty, especially with that irritating smirk that's playing on his lips. His lips…Stop, for goodness sake. _

"So why have you brought me here wise tree?"

_Jumping straight to the chase are you?_

"Yes. This place gives me the shivers, not that you do it's just…"

_I know what you meant._

"Ok…So…"

"You sure are an impatient one aren't you?" He was giving her a look that was sending shivers down her spine, which when she looked into his eyes she wasn't that sure if it was a bad thing.

"Yes, well…"

_You were sent here, not by me, but by the king._

"Ok, so where's the king? And why in the world did he send me here?"

"Good question." There he was giving her that smirk again.

"I was kind of talking to myself." She gave out an exasperated sigh.

_I know why he sent you here, but you must promise to at least try to solve this puzzle around us if I tell you. Believe me it will be worth it the king will not answer your question and most likely will not help you on your quest._

"Then why is he a king?"

_He was forced to be one._

"Ah, well then he must be fantastic company then."

_I wouldn't be so sarcastic you never know when he will show up. He has a habit of appearing and disappearing on the spot. _

"Well then I suppose I shall promise."

_A promise should not be taken lightly._

"Of course not I'm sorry."

_You are fo__rgiven. Now what is your answer?_

"I promise."

Very well, then your quest is to save this kingdom as well as its king.

"Great! Wonderful! What am I exactly saving it from? Lions, tigers or bears?" The man behind her stifled a laugh despite the seriousness of the matter.

_Nightmares._

"Nightmares. Wonderful, just wonderful! I can't even handle my own nightmares."

_I'm sure you are not such a coward as that._

"A coward! I certainly hope not!"

_Well, then at least have some confidence in yourself. _

Katlene flopped down on the grass.

"Well, what in the world am I supposed to do? So far I've not gotten any clues and if they are obvious then what can I say? I don't feel like myself right now.

_I believe you'll just have to wait for your questions to be answered. You must be patient. _

"Patient! I'm locked in the land of dreams or maybe I'm in a coma or something."

_Your answers will come. Now go and seek them out if you are so terribly impatient._

"Out there?"

_Yes out there you nitwit…sorry for loosing my patience with you it's just we've waited so long and here you are complaining. Now go, it's not as if the answers are going to fall from the sky._

"I'm sorry, I suppose I'm being utterly foolish. But sometimes I wish the answers did fall from the sky."

"Your wish is my command." She'd almost forgot he was there until he uttered that sentence. She turned to him.

"What?" But before he could answer she could hear a whistling sound or whirling it sounded like it was coming from above she looked up. Something was coming down from the sky. "I wonder what it is?" Suddenly it increased speed and she realized it was heading straight forward. She desperately tried to get out of the way but not in time. She was knocked down by a heavy object. "What in the world? Man that hurt!" She picked it up it was a large book, she opened it and a three dimensional map appeared. _Whoa this reminds me so much of Ella Enchanted for some odd reason._


	4. Off to See the Wizard of Oz

"I am your guide how may I help you in the land of dreams."

"Well could you at least tell me where to start? And what to look for?"

"One question at a time please. Start in the villiage and look for the school. There you must find a kindred spirit. One who shares a spark."

"Shares a spark. Ok."

_Well here goes nothing_. "Good-bye dear tree. Good-bye…um…Erik." _Hot delicious guy…for goodness sake stop_. "And thank you…both of you." She turned towards the pathway ahead of her. "This sure makes me want to burst into song." She mumbled under her breath. She gathered up her courage and then said, "Oh what the harp, this place deserves a cheery musical interlude anyway." With one last wave toward the tree and the strange beautiful man she faced the way ahead of her and took a deep breath. "We're….off to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of oz we hear is the greatest wizard that ever their was because…because….because of the wonderful things he does. We're…off to the see the wizard," Off she went down the road towards the town, "The wonderful wizard of oz…."

A/N: Sorry for the extremely short chapter and long wait for an update. Thanks for your encouraging reviews. I'll try to get the next chapter up shortly.


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